Catalyst
by TheFictionalMe
Summary: They fought against all odds to get him back…now all they can do is wait. Spoilers for S3 Ep 2. One-shot.


**A/N: Well hey! So this is my first venture into Grimm fan fiction (sorry GH fans, if you were looking for another Liason story, I've yet to find my muse to finish one of them. I'm trying!). **

**I'll be honest and say Grimm, or sci-fi in general, isn't my usual genre (read: I'm typically more of a General Hospital/It's Always Sunny/HIMYM type of fan). But, my husband dragged me into this show, and I gave it a chance. And after I finally realized "Hey, it's Dave from Road Rules!", I was hooked! (haha).**

** As such, PTZD gave me SO many feels, and I didn't know what to do with them…so I decided to put them here. That scene with the whole group in the shop, waiting for Nick to wake up…am I right?! I am generally an angsty writer, so that's pretty much what you'll find here. Basically this is an expansion on that scene, with parts of real dialogue from the show as well as my own additions for what happened in the in-between.**

** Also: I don't own them. NBC does. Do we really need to say that?**

** Enjoy! And if you like it…I have some other unfinished stories…give me some inspiration!**

**~TheFictionalMe **

* * *

"Put him over there," Rosalee ordered as they burst through the doors of the spice shop. Monroe and Hank hastily followed, dragging an unconscious Nick between them. Juliette hurried ahead, moving some stray cushions off of the old metal-frame bed that Rosalee kept in the shop for her more critical patients.

Gently, Monroe and Hank laid Nick down on the bed, as Juliette knelt by his head, brushing his hair back from his clammy forehead.

"Why isn't he waking up yet?" she asked worriedly, looking up to meet the equally concerned gazes of her companions.

Rosalee frowned as she answered, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "I'm not sure. Like I said before, he might not react exactly the same as the others…"

"Because he's a Grimm, right?" Monroe questioned, looking to Rosalee. She nodded in agreement.

"Yea. I mean, we knew the Baron's spell might not affect him the same…"

"But you think the antidote won't either," Hank cut in, hands on his hips as he looked down anxiously at his fallen partner.

Rosalee nodded again, running a hand haphazardly through her hair. "Honestly, I'm not sure at this point what it will do to him."

"You don't think it will cure him?" Juliette asked softly, carding her hands slowly through Nick's disheveled hair. She waited with baited breath, for some sign that Nick was back with them, that Nick was _him_ again. But Nick didn't stir, didn't move, didn't give any indication that he was with them at all.

"I mean, I think it will," Rosalee answered hesitantly, self-doubt creeping into her voice "I mean, I hope it will, I just…don't know what the side effects will be. Because of what he is."

Monroe came over and reassuringly wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to him. "There really wasn't another choice. We had to give him the antidote. It was the only thing we could do."

"Yea, we couldn't let him keep running around like a madman," Hank agreed quietly.

"It will work, Rosalee," Juliette added with determination, before turning back to Nick. She took a deep breath to steady herself, fighting the wave of emotions threatening to overtake her. "It has to."

Rosalee came over to the other side of the bed and knelt by Nick's head.

"How's he doing?" Hank asked, as he and Monroe stood back to let Juliette and Rosalee take charge.

Juliette put her fingers to Nick's neck, feeling for a pulse, before counting his respirations.

"Pulse is still slow and weak but it's steady, breathing is shallow but even," she mused quietly, before gently pulling open Nick's eyelids. They all let out a deep sigh of relief when they saw the angry red color was now gone from his eyes.

"But he's still unconscious," Rosalee sighed, sitting back on her heels. She didn't know what else to do for her friend, and she was afraid that what she had already done would have some horrible consequences. "I just hope we weren't too late."

"What can we do?" Juliette asked softly, moving to sit gingerly on the bed next to Nick, adjusting the pillows behind his head so that she felt like she was doing something, _anything_, to help the man she loved.

"I," Rosalee began, looking upwards as she searched for the words, "I don't know."

"We'll just have to wait and see," Monroe said solemnly, taking a seat next to the bed opposite of Juliette.

"He's still so cold," Juliette began pulling up the single blanket up over him.

"Do you have any more?" Hank turned to Rosalee, who nodded quickly before she disappeared into the back room. She reemerged moments later.

"Here," she said as she passed over a heavier comforter.

Monroe and Juliette hastily grabbed the comforter and pulled it over Nick.

Rosalee hesitated for a moment, looking unsure, before saying, "I'm going to make some more antidote. I hope that it…helps." She walked away slowly towards the main room of the shop.

Renard entered the spice shop just then, having waited outside to make some phone calls once they had returned with Nick. There was a hell of a mess to clean up, thanks to Eric.

"How is he?" he asked, walking closer to the bed, hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his trench coat. His eyes quickly scanned over the Grimm, looking for any signs that he was coming around.

Hank sighed, running a hand over his face as he regarded the Captain. "He's still out for the count."

"Yea, he might be for a while," Monroe added, shrugging helplessly. "Rosalee's going to give him another dose…but we don't know."

Juliette bit her bottom lip, running a hand gently down the side of Nick's battered face. She obsessively checked his pulse again, unconsciously letting out a long sigh. "No change."

"Well let's just hope that this works," Renard said, motioning at Rosalee as she walked back towards the group, carrying the three-pronged injection tool delicately in her hands. He stepped back to give her more room.

"I hope this does more good than harm," she muttered, looking hesitantly at the rest of the group.

"It can't be any worse than he was before," Hank sighed.

"Maybe it will bring him out of this," Monroe added hopefully.

"There's really nothing more to be done," Renard shrugged. "It's the best we've got in this situation." He nodded in approval as Rosalee stepped forwards.

"It'll help," Juliette interjected, looking up at Rosalee with a mixture of worry and determination in her eyes "Just do it."

"Ok," Rosalee responded, still sounding unsure. "Lift his shirt up for me."

Monroe quickly pulled all of the blankets back, and Juliette moved his shirt up out of the way. Rosalee stepped closer, and with a deep breath, bent down and injected the antidote into Nick's abdomen.

"I hope the second dose does it," she said quietly, standing back as Juliette pulled his shirt down again. Rosalee pulled up a stool next to Juliette, carefully watching to see if Nick reacted to the second dose. He lay utterly still and motionless on the bed, the only sign that he was still alive was the slow rise and fall of his chest, and Juliette's confirmation of his still slowly beating pulse every few minutes.

Rosalee sighed, feeling defeated. "There's nothing more we can do. I'm not even sure…this is going to work. But I just don't know what else…" she paused, blinking back tears, "…damn it."

Juliette turned to look back at her, fighting back her own tears. Rosalee smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry. I'm just trying not to…" her voice trailed off.

Juliette nodded ever so slightly, before turning back to Nick. "Me too," she responded quietly, fighting the growing wetness in her eyes. Monroe sat rigidly still across from her, desperately searching for any change in Nick's condition.

"I've got to get back to the precinct," Renard interrupted, stepping closer to the group. "Deal with what's happened."

Hank flicked his worried gaze from Nick over to Renard. "I'm staying."

Renard nodded with understanding, his gaze falling back to the unconscious Grimm. "Probably best that you do." He strode purposefully out of the spice shop, leaving the rest to watch over Nick.

Monroe watched his retreating form, clenching his jaw in attempt to fight down the primal instincts rushing in. Renard's brother had done this to Nick, turned him into a wild animal who had done unspeakable things…and now he might die because of what they'd done to him. It was all Monroe could do not to woge and run after Renard to demand his brother's whereabouts and deal with him himself.

He turned to Rosalee and Juliette, his whole body tensing, clenching and unclenching his fists unconsciously. "If his brother were my brother…" he left off, rubbing both hands across his knees in an attempt to calm himself. He shook his head, looking back at Rosalee and exhaling deeply. "Well, probably shouldn't go there."

"Oh yea you should go there," Hank interjected, coming around from his place behind Monroe to face him, hands firmly on his hips. "I'd go there with you." He looked down at Monroe with a knowing look in his eyes.

Juliette's attention was suddenly pulled from them when Nick's fingers squeezed hers ever so slightly, simultaneously startling her and filling her chest with hope.

"Whoa something's happening!" she exclaimed, pulling everyone's attention back to Nick.

Hank stepped forward, peering down at his partner worriedly. "That's a good thing, right?" he looked over at Rosalee questioningly.

Rosalee shot up from the stool she had been perched on, a small smile crossing her face. "I think so. Let me get some more water."

Nick's arms shot up suddenly, and Monroe and Juliette both leapt forwards, trying to hold them down.

"Oh no no no no!" Monroe exclaimed, grabbing a hold of his arm as Hank pulled out his handcuffs. "Don't, don't do that. Let's not revert. No no no no!"

"Uh, maybe we should…" Hank motioned with his head towards the head of the bed, handcuffs dangling from his hands.

"I wasn't gonna ask," Monroe answered as he grappled with one of Nick's arms.

"You know what…just do it," Juliette replied breathlessly as she struggled to hold down Nick's other arm. "I think getting hit once was enough!" They finally managed to wrestle Nick's arms down so that Hank could handcuff him securely to the bed frame.

"Got 'em," Hank stepped back, and they let out a collective sigh of relief. They all waited anxiously for Nick to move again, or God forbid even wake up, but he was motionless once again.

Rosalee returned then with some more water and a wet washcloth, handing it over to Juliette.

"What was that?" Juliette asked, looking up expectantly at Rosalee for answers. She readily accepted the washcloth and began gently brushing it across Nick's forehead.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Rosalee shrugged, but she smiled. "But I think it's a good sign."

"It's gotta be," Monroe added, standing up slowly from the side of the bed.

"He's not as cold anymore," Juliette said she laid her hand gently on his face and neck, before gently pressing her fingers into the side of his neck. "His pulse is still slow…but it's stronger."

Rosalee stepped forwards, checking Nick's temperature as well as she laid a hand gently on his arm. "He does feel warmer."

"That's all good, right?" Hank asked again, looking over at Rosalee.

She shrugged. "Yea, like I said…I think this is all a good sign."

"So what do we do now?" Monroe asked, coming around the other side of the bed to stand next to Rosalee.

"Now we wait," she said, as they all turned back to look at Nick.

"How about some food while we wait?" Monroe asked, causing a broad smile to stretch across Rosalee's face as she looked up at him. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

"Yea, me too," Hank laughed quietly, walking over to join them. "We definitely got a work-out tonight."

"Yea, taking down a zombie hoard and then fighting your best friend to the proverbial death will do that," Monroe replied, and Rosalee gently swatted his arm. "Ow! What?"

Then he followed his gaze over to where Juliette was still sitting tensely at Nick's side, carefully running the washcloth over his face and tenderly cleaning his multiple abrasions.

"It's ok," Juliette turned and offered them a small smile. "You guys should eat."

"What about you?" Rosalee asked with genuine concern. "You need to eat too, Juliette."

She shrugged, turning her attention back to Nick. "I'm just not hungry."

Rosalee, Hank, and Monroe all looked at each other, until Monroe stepped forwards, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch, but he could feel the visible tension radiating off of her.

"He'll be ok, Juliette," Monroe reassured her softly, but she didn't miss the undertones of doubt in his voice. None of them knew, really, if Nick was going to be ok. They wouldn't know anything more until he finally woke up. It was a painful waiting game that they had no choice of playing.

"I know," she replied softly, clearing her throat as her tenuous hold on her emotions threatened to break. "I just want to be with him right now."

"Ok," Rosalee replied understandingly, motioning for Monroe and Hank to join her. "We'll just be over here if you need anything."

She turned back to them with a wavering smile. "Thanks."

Rosalee led Monroe and Hank over to the counter in the main part of the room, digging through a drawer until she found some take out menus.

"Here, you guys pick something," she motioned, laying the menus out in front of them. Once they had decided and called in the delivery, she ordered both of them to take a seat at the counter. "Now, it's time to get you two cleaned up." Rosalee disappeared into the back room to gather some supplies.

Monroe groaned but slowly took a seat on a stool on the backside of the counter, while Hank carefully sat down across from him. They had been so busy chasing down and then worrying about Nick, they had neglected their own injuries, but now the aches and pain were beginning to set in.

Hank looked over a Monroe, leaning in slightly and dropping his voice, looking over at Juliette and Nick before saying, "I've never seen anyone move the way that Nick did. That was…unreal."

"Yea, I'll say," Monroe agreed quietly. "I don't know if that's a side effect of the Baron's poison on Nick, but the others definitely didn't do what he did."

"He wasn't human," Hank responded, something close to fear or disbelief flickering in his eyes for the briefest of moments.

"Well, he's not human," Monroe replied, "not really. Honestly man, the way he was tonight, was like the stories about Grimms that we used to hear from our elders growing up. Something out of our worst nightmares." Monroe shuddered involuntarily, his eyes glancing back over to Nick, and he immediately felt a sharp pang in his heart.

For as dangerous and uncontrollable as Nick had been a few hours ago, now he looked completely harmless, battered and beaten, and way too close to the foot of death's door.

"But this…it wasn't his fault," Monroe continued softly, and Hank followed Monroe's gaze, looking at the unconscious Grimm. Juliette remained at his side, keeping a constant vigil and tending to his wounds.

"No, it wasn't," Hank agreed. "But when he wakes up, he's going to have a hard time dealing with all this."

"If he wakes up," Monroe sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "What if we didn't get to him in time? He was under the Baron's spell way longer than any of the others."

"I don't know," Hank sighed, rubbing a hand tiredly over his face. "We've done everything we can at this point. It's out of our hands now."

Rosalee walked back into the room then, arms full of supplies. She carefully eyed them both, not missing how they were both looking at Nick as they sat at the counter.

"Any change?" she asked quietly, not wanting to disturb Juliette or worry her further.

"None since earlier," Monroe sighed, turning to look at her sadly. "Do you think…we got him in time?"

Rosalee frowned, looking at Monroe and Hank seriously. "I hope so."

"He was under for a long time," Hank said worriedly, unconsciously gripping his hands on the edge of the counter.

"Yea, he was," Rosalee responded simply, before shaking her head. "We just have to keep waiting, and hope for a miracle, or something. But Nick is strong, he might be able to pull through."

"Yea, well we know he's strong all right," Monroe scoffed. "Let's just hope that that super Grimm strength of his can now be used for good, and help him survive this."

"Well, right now, let's worry about you two," Rosalee deftly changed the subject that was weighing so heavily on all of their hearts. "Besides, I don't want to upset Juliette further. She got a hell of a crash course into our world tonight."

"I'll say," Hank shook his head. "And I thought my introduction was bad."

On the other side of the room, Juliette continued to gently clean Nick's wounds, running the washcloth carefully down his face, blotting at the angry red marks across his cheek and nose. She knew the others were trying to be quiet, and not disturb her, but she still caught bits and pieces of their conversation.

They didn't know if Nick would pull through, if he would even survive this. Because of who…_what_ he was, the poison and subsequent antidote were affecting him differently.

Nick hadn't been like the others. He was angrier, stronger, and more inhuman then Juliette cared to remember. She shuddered, quickly trying to push away the thoughts of Nick being an out of control monster from her mind.

She unconsciously reached a hand to the side of her chin, wincing when she felt the growing bruise that Nick had left there. She wasn't sure she would ever forget the feeling of being punched like that.

Juliette shook her head, blinking back tears again vainly. She had held it together in front of the others, but now it was all coming crashing down on her. She had only just learned about the other world that Nick lived in, and tonight had truly been the night from hell. This had been done to Nick because he was Grimm, and now, after everything they had gone through, she might lose him because of it too. A single tear slowly tracked its way down her fair cheek, but she didn't bother to brush it away.

"Nick, you need to wake up," she whispered quietly, leaning in closer to his face. He hadn't stirred again since his earlier movements, and Juliette was really starting to worry that it was just a remaining reflex from the Baron's poison, and not a sign that he was coming around at all.

"We need you," she continued quietly, cupping his cheek gently. He did feel warmer, but by no means warm, and his skin was cool and clammy. She gently brushed her thumb over his cheek, over his bruises and the stubble growing there. "You have to fight this. Please."

She leaned down and lightly pressed her lips to his forehead, laying a gentle kiss. "You had better come back to us," she whispered fiercely, before sitting back up. She looked down at him expectantly, waiting for him to wake up and tell them all that he was fine, that everything would be ok…but he didn't move. He _hadn't_ moved since earlier.

Turning around, she glanced at the others, and they hastily returned to their newly arrived take-out, pretending that they hadn't been watching her. Rosalee had just finished with Hank's injuries and was now moving on to Monroe. She took comfort in knowing that they were nearby, and that they were as worried about Nick as she was. She turned back to Nick, dabbing his face gently with the washcloth some more.

She was startled to see that he now looked frighteningly pale again, as he had when they had first treated him. She quickly reached a hand out to touch his forehead, to find that he was ice cold again, but not like before. It was like he was…

Without another thoughts hesitation, she jammed her fingers forcefully into the side of his neck, desperately trying to find a pulse. She pushed harder when she couldn't find one, and then frantically pressed her fingers against his right wrist strung up over the bed, to find that there wasn't one there either. Her eyes flicked quickly to his chest, when she saw that he was no longer breathing.

"No! Nick!" she cried out, startling the others into alarm. "Guys, he's not breathing! I-I can't find a pulse!"

"Damn it!" Hank yelled, jumping up and rushing to Nick's side, Monroe and Rosalee hot on his heels.

"C'mon man, don't do this!" Monroe paced frantically, as Rosalee landed with a hard thud on her knees next to the bed, checking for his pulse as well.

"Call 911," Rosalee demanded, and Hank nodded, digging for his phone.

"Nick, don't you dare die," Juliette said determinedly, tears streaming freely down her face now. "Please. Please don't die…"

"Do you know CPR?" Rosalee asked, whipping around to look at Juliette.

She nodded quickly through her tears. "Yes."

"Ok, move right here, and when I start counting…"

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Nick took in a shuddering breath, and his complexion slowly returned to normal.

The four friends paused, looking at each other in shock, before Juliette scrambled to check his pulse again. She held her breath, slowly counting in her head as she pressed her fingers against first his wrist, and then his neck.

"It's back," she said shakily, turning back to them. "Still too slow…but it's there."

"He's getting warmer again too," Rosalee laid a gentle hand on his forehead, before straightening back up. She carefully watched his chest rise and fall, counting the respirations. "He's breathing again, and it's steady."

Hank let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, slowly sliding his phone back into his pocket. He had only dialed 9-1. Rosalee stood, leaning heavily into Monroe. He unconsciously pulled her tightly against his side, shaking slightly with relief.

Hank ran a hand haggardly over his face. "What the hell just happened?" he asked, turning to look at them.

Rosalee looked helpless. "I have no idea. But he's ok, for now."

"He looked…dead," Juliette whispered painfully, gently stroking Nick's cheek once again, grateful she could feel his warm breath against her hand as she came near his nose. "For a minute, I really thought…" she trailed off, another tear streaming down her cheek, before she hastily wiped it away.

Monroe sighed, shaking his head. "Yea…me too. Wow, I'll be glad when this is all over."

Hank grunted. "No kidding. We just need him to wake up already."

Rosalee nodded. "Hopefully we're through the worst of it now."

"I can't handle much more of this," Juliette said quietly, stroking his hair.

"None of us can," Monroe added knowingly, his brown eyes filled with worry.

"Well, right now he seems stable again," Rosalee said softly. "We just have to wait and see."

They were all silent for a long moment, listening to the reassuring sound of Nick softly breathing.

"C'mon," Rosalee urged gently, motioning to Monroe and Hank. "Let me finish patching you two up. We'll be right here, Juliette."

She nodded vaguely, not bothering to look up at them. "I know. Thanks."

The others returned to the counter in the main part of the room, trying to gather their composure.

Monroe sat with protest at Rosalee's raised eyebrows, but knew better than to fight her on it. He let out a long breath, burying his face in his hands.

"If Nick dies…because of what Renard's brother did…then I can't promise I won't do something really stupid and violent." He looked back up at Rosalee and Hank, his eyes intermittently flashing red.

Hank nodded, his jaw clenching in anger. "Like I said before…I'm right there with you."

"Guys," Rosalee interjected softly, dabbing some rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab, "relax. Nick's ok. He's going to be ok. We have to keep thinking that. Besides, Renard sounded like he was going to deal with his brother…let him handle it."

Monroe scoffed. "So he says. He had better…or someone else will." Hank grunted in agreement.

"Ok, enough," Rosalee interrupted, scolding them both gently. "Eat your food before it gets cold." She motioned to the white boxes on the counter. Both men nodded begrudgingly but did as they were told, digging into the remnants of their dinner. Juliette remained steadfastly at Nick's side, keeping a careful watch.

They ate in silence, glancing over at Nick every so often, just to make sure that he was still there, still _alive_.

* * *

Rosalee finished preparing everything to clean Monroe's facial wounds. When she was ready, she turned back to Monroe. "Tilt your head back," she instructed him in her no nonsense tone.

Monroe sighed, unable to turn his mind off, and finished chewing his last bite. "I mean, if the Royals are willing to go to this extent to get a Grimm…"

"This might hurt," Rosalee interrupted, dabbing the swab gently on the cut on his forehead.

"A lot!" Monroe exclaimed, pulling away from her. "Ow! Not kidding."

Rosalee smiled, stifling a laugh. "Sorry, that cut's a little deep."

"I didn't know that until now," Monroe countered. "Alright, wait…ok. Let me have it." He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and waiting for Rosalee to do her work. She smiled at him again, thinking how utterly adorable he was in that moment.

"That's what I'm thinking," Hank added, waving his chopsticks around. "If they're willing to do what they did, there's got to be some serious stuff in the works."

Across the room, Juliette was only half-listening. She sighed, wringing out the last of the water from the washcloth, when she noticed Nick's eyelids begin to flutter.

Her heart almost leapt out of her chest with hope that he was finally waking up. He let out a deep breath, stirring slightly as he moved his head from side to side.

She couldn't help the smile that crept over her face. "Nick?" she asked softly. "Nick, can you hear me?"

The others froze at her words, looking over at Juliette. Nick turned towards her voice, moving more this time.

Juliette turned to them. "Hey, he's waking up," she said urgently.

They all jumped up, rushing towards the bed. Hank reached them first.

"Nick," he called out, coming over to the chair that Monroe had vacated.

"Can you hear us?" Monroe asked hopefully as he reached the side of the bed, Rosalee at his shoulder. They waited with baited breath for Nick to respond.

Nick struggled to open his eyes as he finally spoke, his voice hoarse and strained.

"What's going on?"

Juliette reached up to check his pulse again. Nick peered blearily up at her, just able to make out the blurry outline of her face.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, blinking rapidly in an effort to focus his vision.

"Uh," Juliette hesitated, looking back at Hank for help before turning back to Nick. "Checking your pulse."

Nick swallowed thickly before responding. "Why?"

"That's got kind of a long answer attached to it," Monroe said hesitantly, as Nick tried to focus on his blurred image over Juliette's shoulder.

Nick began to move around more, opening his eyes fully at last. They all were quietly relieved to see that the blood red color was gone for good. Nick tried to pull his arms down, perplexed when they wouldn't budge. He looked upwards, eyes widening in concern.

"What's going on? Why am I handcuffed?"

Hank stepped forwards then with the keys. "We uh, we didn't want you to fall over." He unlocked the cuffs, releasing Nick's hands.

Nick gingerly began to sit up, wincing in pain as he reached for his head. "Ok, that is a bad headache." He looked up at the others, wondering why there were all staring at him with concern. That's when he realized that he was in the spice shop.

"How did I get here?" he asked them, looking completely bewildered.

"We brought you," Juliette gave him a small smile.

Nick nodded, wincing as he sat up more. "I'm really sore. Kind of…everywhere."

"But you look a lot better," Monroe responded, giving him an ok sign and a relieved smile.

"A lot better," Hank agreed soundly, nodding his head.

"Understatement," Rosalee added, letting out a deep breath.

Juliette nodded, her smile widening to something close to relief.

As his vision finally cleared, Nick looked carefully over all of them, noticing for the first time their beaten and haggard appearance.

"Were you all in an accident?" he asked with concern.

"Of a sort," Monroe chimed in when no one spoke for a long moment.

"You don't remember anything?" Hank asked, drawing Nick's attention back to him.

Nick looked his partner over, trying to clear the fuzzy thoughts from his aching head. That's when he noticed it. "You got your cast off."

"Yea I did," Hank said with relief. "You remember that."

Nick shook his head. "I remember you saying you were going to."

"What's the last thing you remember?" Rosalee asked, looking down at Nick. Monroe walked around towards the foot of the bed.

"Uh," Nick sat up more, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not really sure." He put a hand to his chin, trying to sort his scrambled memories.

Monroe leaned forward, both hands gripping the rail at the foot of the bed unconsciously. "We were at the shipping yard."

Nick nodded slowly, before looking up at Monroe. "Yea, yea I remember that." He paused for a moment. "We were trying to stop what was happening…and you had the medicine," he looked to Rosalee, who nodded in affirmation.

"But we got separated," Nick continued, struggling to recall the next events in his fog-addled mind. "And I was…chasing somebody…"

"Baron…" Hank offered.

"…Samedi," Nick suddenly remembered, looking at his partner for confirmation. "The guy with the hat."

"The hat dude!" Monroe encouraged. "You got it."

Nick nodded. "I was chasing him," he winced in pain as he sat up further. "And then we fell." The vivid image of tackling the Baron on top of a container and falling inside suddenly flashed across his mind. "And I found a passport…with my photo," another vivid image of peering into the darkness with a flashlight came to mind, "…but somebody else's name. Thomas…something," he shook his head. "That's pretty much it."

He sensed them all hesitate, and Juliette looked as though she was trying to say something, but couldn't find the right words. Nick desperately tried to fill in the blanks himself.

"I must have gotten hit," he started, looking at them in hopes they would confirm his thoughts. "And I guess you guys found me and brought me here, right?"

Hank bit his lip, struggling with the words, and they all glanced at each other, trying to figure out how to tell Nick what had happened to him. He didn't miss their reluctance.

"Or maybe not," he continued when he realized they weren't telling him something. He was starting to worry about what had happened, what he had done wrong. "Am I leaving something out?" he asked them pointedly, waiting for an answer.

They hesitated again, before they all started talking at once over each other. Nick just looked at them all in confusion.

"Sorry," Monroe said, as they all stopped talking just as abruptly as they'd started.

"No no no," Hank held up his hand. "You go."

"How about you?" Monroe gestured to Rosalee.

"I think Juliette should go," Rosalee looked down at her.

"Okay," Juliette turned back to Nick, racking her brain for what to tell him. There were no words to tell the man that you loved that he had been turned into an unstoppable monster who had tried to kill them all.

Nick looked back at them with alarm as his face fell. "I blew it, didn't I? What, I screwed it up and they got away?"

Juliette looked at him, a pained looked crossing her face. She shook her head slowly. "No Nick, there's much more to it than that."

His heart skipped a beat at her words. Whatever had happened, it couldn't be good. A ball of dread began to grow in the pit of his stomach. "Then just tell me," he looked at her imploringly, and her heart ached for him. This was going to be so difficult for him to hear.

"He…got you," she said slowly, "like he got the others." As he stared at her in disbelief, she reached for the hem of his shirt and gently pulled it up, revealing the two sets of injection marks on his stomach. "See?"

Nick looked down, trying to believe what he was seeing, but he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

There was no way, _no way_ that he had been one of those monsters…and with his abilities…

He looked back up at her, pain and shock evident on his face.

_No no no no no…_

"What? No…I don't remember…" he said incredulously, putting his face in his hands, "I don't remember anything!" He scrambled to his feet, swaying unsteadily but Juliette jumped up to steady him.

"Nick, it's ok," she soothed. "You need to sit back down."

"No, it's not ok, Juliette!" Nick shook his head, breathing heavily, his body shaking ever so slightly. "What did I do?"

"We stopped you before you could go there," Hank was at his side now, hand firmly on his arm and gently urging him to sit back again. Nick refused, pulling back from their grasp.

"Yea man, we got to you before you could do too much damage," Monroe added as he stepped closer, clasping a gentle hand on Nick's shoulder. "Just relax, ok?"

"Relax?" Nick laughed humorlessly, stepping away from the group and pacing around the room. He lost his balance again and grabbed onto the side of the counter, steadying himself. Rosalee and Juliette were at his side in an instant.

"Nick," Rosalee said, looking him in the eye, "I know you're upset, but you've been through a lot tonight. I really think you need to lie back down."

"I can't," he argued, turning to look back at his friends seriously. "Not until you guys tell me everything that happened while I was…" he trailed off, taking a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. "And I mean everything."

He looked at them expectantly, waiting for them to fill him in on what he had missed, when the realization hit him like a freight train.

"Oh God. You weren't in an accident. I did this. I did this to all of you."

Hank and Monroe locked eyes across the room, and Rosalee looked down, biting her lower lip. Juliette stepped closer to him, grabbing one of his hands.

Nick shook his head, squeezing his eyes tightly shut, before regarding them with a look of raw pain and guilt.

"I did, didn't I?" his voice was rising in panic now. "Just tell me, did I…

"Ok, we'll tell you what happened," Juliette began, looking at him earnestly. "But please, you have to take it easy."

He shook his head vehemently. "Juliette, I can't until…"

"We thought we lost you!" Juliette cut him off, her voice rising with emotion. Nick paused, caught off guard at her words. "For good. And we almost did. So please, Nick, you have to calm down."

"She's right, man," Monroe added quietly, and Nick turned to look at him. The worry was evident in Monroe's tone. "It's been a hell of a night, for all of us. So could you just relax and not put us through any more of that?"

Nick sighed, nodding slowly as their words sunk in. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…I didn't mean..." He took a deep breath, willing himself to be calm.

He had no idea things had gotten that bad…he remembered _nothing_ of his time under the Baron's control.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Rosalee reassured him, smiling warmly.

Juliette stepped forwards then, pulling him close to her. Nick dropped his head onto her shoulder, breathing in her scent deeply. "I'm so sorry," he mumbled into her shoulder.

"I know," Juliette said quietly as she buried her face into his chest. "And we all forgive you. But you really had us scared, Nick, that you weren't going to…" she trailed off, and he squeezed her more tightly against him.

"We're just glad you're ok," Rosalee added, breathing out a sigh of relief. Seeing Nick up and around, being _Nick_ again, after everything that had happened, was a welcome sight.

"How ya feeling?" Hank asked, stepping closer to Nick and Juliette, concern clearly etched across the older detective's face.

Nick picked his head up from Juliette's shoulder to look squarely at him, but made no move to leave her embrace. "I don't know," he answered hoarsely. "Fine, I guess."

Monroe snorted. "Fine? Really, that's the answer you're gonna go with?"

Nick shrugged. "I'm ok." He didn't miss the doubtful looks they gave him in response. He sighed, pulling back from Juliette and running a hand through his hair. "I'm ok. Really."

"If you say so," Hank mused, looking at him skeptically.

"We're just glad to have you back with us," Monroe raised his eyebrows at him.

"Yea, me too," Nick said softly, flashing them a brief smile. "Look, I'm really sorry, for everything, but I'm ok now," he hesitated, closing his eyes for a moment before regarding them all seriously, "but please…I have to know what happened. Just tell me."

"Alright, man, we'll tell you," Hank clapped his shoulder lightly, and Nick turned his head to look miserably at his partner. "Why don't we go into the other room?" he motioned at the couch.

Nick nodded absently, letting Juliette lead him into the other room. The others followed suit, Monroe and Rosalee settling down onto the couch. Monroe gestured for Nick to join them, but he shook his head, resuming his anxious pacing in front of them.

"I guess we'll start from the beginning," Hank said, standing at the far end of the couch. Rosalee nodded in agreement.

Nick nodded again, stopping to look at his partner. "Yea." He looked around the room at all of them, body tensing as he waited for them to begin.

Juliette stepped forwards, grabbing Nick's hands and squeezing them gently. "Nick, before you hear this…we just want you to know that everything's going to be ok."

It wasn't.


End file.
